Wicked World
by TheLastShiningStar
Summary: After defeating Naraku Kagome returns back to her era. But something is wrong here. Or more accurately, everything is completely upside down. What happened to her home? And how is she supposed to deal with something like this?
1. Back Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 01 – Back Home<strong>

Finally. Naraku was defeated and the jewel was gone forever. The day was perfect; the sun was shining, birds were singing and everyone was happy that the great evil is finally gone. But there was one thing which tainted the good mood a little. I had to return to my time.

All my friends were gathered around the well to say their last goodbye to me. Inuyasha, Shippo, Kohaku, Kirara, Sango, Miroku, Kouga, Ayame, Kaede, and even Sesshoumaru with Jaken and Rin.

"Will we ever see you again?" Shippo asked sadly.

"I don't know, but you never know what the future will bring, so there is always a chance." I winked at him and he nodded. We hugged, both trying to hold back tears.

"We will miss you." Sango replaced Shippo in my embrace and I couldn't keep myself any longer and burst out crying.

"I will miss you too. All of you." I managed to say between the sobs and then I hugged everyone one by one. In the enthusiasm of the moment I hugged even Jaken, who was wriggling frantically and Sesshoumaru, who didn't hug me back, but didn't push me away from him either and just waited until I will release him on my own will.

"Well, I guess I should go now." I stood in front of the well again and looked at all my friends, probably for the last time.

_So, this is the farewell._ I thought and sighed. I stepped on the edge of the well and with a last glance over my friends, I jumped in.

I landed at the bottom of the well like usual, but something was wrong. I couldn't see the roof of the shrine. Actually I couldn't see at all. I tried to find the ladder with my hands, but with no luck.

"What the hell is going on here." I vented my anger. Hearing my voice calmed me a little and I tried to think of something.

"Mum! Grandpa! Souta! Are you there? Please come help me!" I shouted, but received no response.

_It looks like the well is sealed, is this one of grandpa's jokes?_ I thought and then my temper flared up.

"Grandpa, if this is your doing, I am going to throw all of your precious _powerful_ stuff into the trash!" I yelled, but I still didn't get any answer. I sighed and decided that I should try to climb up.

The climbing was hard. There was no ladder or at least some ivy, so all I could depend on were the holes in the walls of the well. The worst part was that I still couldn't see a thing. At last, after quite a long and tiring time, I hit the cover of the well with my head.

I tried to push it aside, but the wooden cover was too thick and heavy. I tried again with more effort, but I lost my balance and fell down screaming.


	2. Awakening

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong><strong>Chapter 02 – Awakening<strong>**

The pain in my head woke me up, though I was too tired to even try to open my eyes. Through my eyelids I could see light, so I definitely wasn't in the well anymore. I heard some voices close to me, so I focused on what they were saying.

"But how could something like that happen at all?" It was mum, so they came to pick me up after all.

"All I can think of is that it could be a work of some demon. If the well was really sealed, there's no other way she could get inside." _A demon? What are they talking about? Demons aren't in my time. And who is the man who just spoke?_ I couldn't recognize his voice at all.

"The well was sealed, but what are you saying? A demon? Why would a demon want to attack her?" Mum asked the unfamiliar man again.

"Well, she is a priestess. For some demons, that's a good enough reason." He answered as if it was the most obvious thing and then continued.

"How did you find her anyway? If the well was sealed, what led you to go look there?"

"Kei heard her scream so we went to check it out." Mum answered.

_Kei? Who's that. I don't have any friend of that name and I can't recall any of my mum's, grandpa's or Souta's friends who would be called that name. Maybe a customer, but mum wouldn't call a customer by name._ I sat up, holding my head, and Souta immediately screamed beside me.

"Oi, Kagome! You're awake!" He was happy about that, but I definitely wasn't happy about the level of his voice. I just frowned at him and then was interrupted by that man who was talking with my mum before.

"How do you feel young lady?" He asked and I just stared at him. Who is he anyway to ask me something like this and talk to me in such way?

"Other than the fact that my head hurts like it was on fire, and that I have absolutely no idea who you are, I am quite fine." I replied irritably, and watched his reaction. He looked at me shocked, and then turned to my mum.

"It seems that the injuries are worse than I thought. The fall probably damaged her brain and she lost her memories."

"Stop talking about me like if I wasn't here. I didn't say I don't know anyone, I just don't know you!" I cried angrily. He gave me a short look and turned back to my mum again.

"She probably has a partial amnesia. But if she can remember at least something then it should make her recovery easier." He continued talking to my mum, and I was really getting annoyed. The door to my room opened, and I saw a girl walk inside with some clothes in her hands. No, I was wrong. She wasn't just a girl, she was a _demon _girl.

The girl had dark brown hair set into two short pigtails on each side of her head. She had green eyes, though she was still looking to the ground so it was hard to tell. She was definitely some kind of wild animal demon, but she was in such bad state that I couldn't be sure. Lynx maybe, or wolf, she could have even been a fox. I really couldn't tell. She wore just some old clothes, almost rags, which should have been changed a long time ago.

No one paid her attention until she tripped over something and dropped the clothes on the floor. I stared at her terrified face as she shamefully looked at my mum. _Who is this girl, and why is she here?_ Souta and the nameless man just glanced at her and then turned to me as if nothing happened. But what surprised me the most was mum's reaction.

"What do you think you're doing? You're good for nothing!" She yelled angrily. "I wonder who advised me to choose you anyway. Now pick up the clothes you dropped and go get some clean ones. No, no, rather you get out of my sight until I call you. I'll get the clothes myself."

I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. Why did mum scold her so much just because she tripped and dropped some clothes? It didn't make sense. I opened my mouth to say something but mum looked at me with a kind smile and I was stunned by her sudden change.

"Don't worry honey, she will be punished for her negligence later. I'll now go get some clean clothes for you." She said kindly, but I replied quickly, partly shocked and partly angry.

"Negligence? What do you mean by that? She just tripped, so why should she be punished?" Now it was mum who was staring at me confused and I didn't understand why.

"Doctor, are you sure she will be alright?" Mum turned to that man. He seemed to be deep in thoughts and then answered.

"I really can't tell right now. We will probably have to do some tests and watch her closely. Then we will be maybe able to tell how much damage the injuries caused." They were talking about me without me again, but I didn't care so much about it anymore. The only thought in my mind right now was: _What did I get myself into?_

They were talking about the demons so easily, like if it was the daily routine, and the way mum scolded that girl. I had to find out what's going on here as soon as possible. I turned to Souta and whispered.

"Souta, may I ask you for a favor?" He nodded. I needed to find a way to make him tell me everything he knows without making him think that I am completely crazy. Thankfully, I already found that way.

"I don't want to go to all those tests." I continued. "Maybe I can avoid them if you will tell me everything what I need to know."

"But sis, what if it will become worse? You should let them to look at you." _That goes for my plan._ I frowned internally, but I wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Please Souta. I am alright, really. It's just that some information slipped out of my mind, but I am sure I will remember if you tell me something." I did the best puppy eyes I could manage, and he sighed.

"Ok. But I hope it won't get us into trouble." I smiled at him encouragingly.

"You're the best. Thank you." He nodded and then we just had to wait until we would be left alone.


	3. Upside Down

**Chapter 03 – Upside Down**

"A slave? Are you kidding?" I cried at Souta. I couldn't believe to what he was telling me. Kei was our slave? He was eying me cautiously and then continued carefully.

"Everyone who can afford some has at least one. There's nothing strange about it. You really must have hit your head hard. Kei lives here just for a while but before her there was another for several generations." I looked at him unable to say anything. _Slaves? The demons are here the slaves of humans? How could that happen?_

"So all the demons are slaves of humans?" I asked confusedly and he shook his head.

"No. Not all demons. Just those who were trying to offense the Lord. They are sent to the preparation camp where they are turned to slaves. I don't know how exactly it works, but when they leave the preparations they don't remember anything about themselves. It's important because if they remembered who they were, they could become dangerous." _So they are just puppets manipulated by the others. No wonder mum was acting to Kei like she did._ I internally commented the information I gained from Souta.

"The Lord says that for a demon who thinks too much of himself, this is the best punishment." Souta continued and I sighed.

"Seems like he's the one to talk." I uttered but I was taken aback when Souta covered my mouth with his hand and looked at me with terrified expression.

"You mustn't talk badly about the Lord. If it somehow reached his ears, he could send for you and no priestess who met him in his palace ever returned." I stared at him shocked. So this Lord, whoever it was, was turning his demon enemies into the slaves and he probably had the pleasure with killing humans. Or maybe just priestesses, but in the end there wasn't such a big difference.

"Tell me more about the Lord and his habits." I asked him and he nodded reluctantly.

"He is a strong demon." He started slowly. Well, that could be expected. I doubted that a human would be capable doing such things.

"He is quite permissive to everyone who follows his rules but he is really cruel to everyone who doesn't." It was logical. If he harmed some of his faithful followers without proper reason, the people could revolt against him. But if he punished only those who disobeyed him or tried to attack him or anything else what would be against his rules, he would just strengthened his power and obedience of the rest of the people.

"The demons are sent to the preparation camp to become slaves and humans are sent to the hunting field where they become the prey of men-eating demons. We went there once with my friend because we were curious what is it like there, so we spied on them. I had nightmares for half a month after that. You was the one who told me I have nothing to worry about that I wouldn't be sent there." Even now he was shaking a bit, just thinking about it.

"Why would I tell you that?" I continued in my questioning. This was getting more confusing with every further information he told me.

"Because you are the priestess, and families with priestesses are treated better than ordinary humans." I would have thought that as a demon he would want to get rid of us. Why would he cherish us? It's not that he would have to be scared. Moreover, Souta said before that each priestess who met him in his palace was never seen again.

"Why is that?" I asked but he just shrugged.

"I don't know. He never said the reason."

"You talked with him?" I exclaimed in surprise. This was starting to be too much for me to handle.

"No, but he appears in the TV often. He has one entry today too. We all will be watching it." He stated simply.

"Don't tell me that it is commanded to watch it." I frowned.

"No, it's not ordered, but he is always saying something important so it's better to watch it." I nodded to him. I wondered what important things he could say, but I was more curious about what kind of demon he was. If he really was as strong as he seemed to be then he must have lived even 500 years ago so there's the possibility that I have met him before.

I decided that I've got enough information from Souta for one day and told him that I would like to be alone for a while. He didn't protest. He seemed to be glad for that actually. I was sure that he didn't like to talk about all these things and he must have been thinking that I've gone mad.

This situation reminded me of my first experience in the feudal era. The people there didn't know either what to think about me, but for them I was a stranger. Here I was supposed to be at home, but this place didn't feel like home to me anymore.

Most of the things were the same, but the differences were too much for me. Slaves. Demons. Nothing like that should be in my era. Something must have happened in the past and I had to find out what. For now I decided to watch that entry of this Lord and then I would return to the feudal era to figure out what happened.

I was waiting impatiently in front of the TV in the living room. I needed to know if the demon responsible for changing my time into this mess was someone I knew and if there was any chance to return everything back to normal. I was just mindlessly browsing through the channels as all the members of my family came to the living room one by one.

At first grandpa, who spent all day in the shed, checking his treasures and charms. I was glad that at least this didn't change, even when the world was actually full of demons. Though his charms were as useless as always.

Then came Souta, holding Buyo in his hands and finally mum, who came from the kitchen and who took the remote from me. She changed the channel to the one where the Lord was about to appear and we waited.

A huge opulent room appeared on the screen and in the middle of the room stood the Lord. He started to talk but I didn't hear him. Not that the TV would be muted, I just wasn't able to make my brain work to process the words. I could think only about one thing.

_How can this be?_


	4. Identity Of The Lord

**Chapter 04 – Identity Of The Lord**

_How can this be? How is it even possible?_ I stared at the screen and then ran upstairs to my room as fast as possible, trying to repel the break down which was right now almost unavoidable. I ignored the startled faces of my family members as I left and once I was in my room, I collapsed on my bed. I couldn't believe to what I just saw.

Naraku. How could he be here? How could he stay alive? How dared he to change my home into his twisted reality? I tried to throw all the blame at him, but it didn't help me in any way. He was responsible for what happened, but right now I was more broken than angry.

We killed him. We were certain he was dead and there was no reason for doubts. After we defeated him there was no trace of him left anywhere. The wind tunnel in Miroku's hand, the curse placed on Miroku's grandfather by Naraku and transferred on his descendants, it was gone.

It was the most trustful sign of Naraku's death and yet, he was here. In my era. Ruling over the humans as well as demons. How could he do it? And how did he become full-fledged demon without the Shikon no Tama?

I knew there was no way how could I fight with him and stay alive. We had a hard time to defeat him with our whole group and at that time he was just a half-demon, and since I didn't know what happened and how did he manage to stay alive and get such power, I could do only one thing. Be a good girl and do what everyone were expecting me to do.

I had to avoid Naraku at any cost. If he found me and recognized me, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I had no idea why he preferred priestesses over other humans but I was sure he would do an exception in my case.

But that didn't mean that I would admit his victory. No. I would pretend that everything is how it's supposed to be but in the process, I would be going to find out as much as possible about him, his past and his plans. There must have been something I could use as my advantage against him, but until then I would have to blend in with the crowd and don't attract too much attention to myself.

I heard knocking at my door and I quickly sat up. I wiped the tears, which started to fall unconsciously right after I've got out of sight of the others, away and tried to put a smile on my face. _The theater begins._

"Come in." I said as calmly as I managed. The door opened and mum stood there, uncertain expression on her face.

"Are you alright Kagome? Did something happen?" She asked. I shook my head hoping that my smile looked at least a little naturally.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm sorry I startled you." She examined me for a while and then smiled.

"Ok, I guess it must be because of that injury that you are acting so strange. I hope it will fix soon. Maybe you should go to sleep, you need to rest." _I am not acting strange. It's this world what is wrong here._ That's what I wanted to say at first but I knew I had to control myself if I was to succeed in my task.

"You're right. I guess it will be the best what I can do now." I said sleepily and added one forced yawn. She smiled and left the room. I was alone again. Left to my thoughts.

I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. There was too much things to think about. I went to the shower and the running water calmed me a little but once I returned back to my room, all the dark thoughts returned back to me immediately.

I remembered my plan about going back to the past and when I was sure everyone's sleeping, I sneaked out of the house and went to the shrine. The well was closed but with some effort I managed to push the cover aside a little. I quickly jumped in, trying to get out of this world as soon as possible, but nothing happened.

I landed at the bottom of the well and when I looked back I could still see the ceiling of the shrine. _I can't go back! I am stuck here, and I didn't even bring a ladder with me._ I frowned. I had to climb up again without any help, but this time I could at least see, so in the end it wasn't that bad. I returned to my room and laid on my bed.

Tomorrow I would have to go to the school and I wondered how different it would be there. I was sure I could have easily asked mum to let me stay home, but the uncertainty would be probably even worse than the reality. I was afraid to go outside and see the consequences of Naraku's rule but I would have to anyway some day, and the sooner the better.

I wondered about my friends. _Ayumi, Eri, Yuka. Are they my friends here too? And if they still are, how will they act towards me?_ According to Souta, priestesses had higher status than other humans. Could it affect our friendship somehow or was I just too paranoid already?

Nothing made sense in this world and I was getting frustrated. And I was here hardly one day. How could someone expect me to live here, under Naraku's rules, like if everything was alright? It was crazy and I thought that my life got complicated when I started to travel into the past. But that was nothing compared to this.

When I was in the past, no matter what happened there, I had always the place where I could return. My home. The place I knew the best. But this wasn't my home and now I couldn't even return to the past for some help. I was broken and helpless. Who would help me anyway? I was the only one who knew how this world should look like. _Or am I just imagining it? Could it be that it's really me who is wrong?_

_No! I mustn't think that way. I know I'm right, even though that everyone else says the opposite. I must keep myself sane at any cost. I must keep my memories about my reality and do everything to return it to normal._ That's the only thing I could do now and only with that thought I would be able to live here and don't get mad.


	5. In The School

**Chapter 05 – In The School**

In the morning I woke up surprised that I fell asleep at all. I got up, dressed myself and went to the kitchen for the breakfast. Mum was already there and when she saw me, she put a worried look on.

"Kagome, are you sure you want to go to the school today? I am sure no one will complain about you staying home after what happened." I just nodded. I didn't have the strength to say anything. I was sure that I would say something what I shouldn't anyway, so it was better to stay quiet. Mum handed me the breakfast and I headed to the dinning room when I crashed into Kei.

"I'm sorry my Lady, please forgive me." She said looking to the ground and I had to fight the urge to sigh.

"It's ok." I said and continued to the dining room. She didn't move from her spot the whole time I could see her. She was probably waiting for me to hit her or do something else to punish her, but I could never do something like that, even though that it was considered as a normal thing to do.

"You shouldn't go so easy on her." Mum joined me in the dining room and I almost frowned.

"I'm just tired." I told her, which was kind of true. I was tired of this world, of it's rules and I wasn't even outside of our house yet. That was waiting for me now. I grabbed my school bag and went outside and towards my school.

"Kagome! Are you alright? We heard what happened. It's horrible! How could someone do something like that to you!" Eri came running to me, followed by Ayumi and Yuka, when I reached the school. _So it seems that we are friends even here and they already heard about my accident in the well._ Though, for some reason they didn't think it was an accident but that someone did that to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little confused sometimes." I told them.

"You should have stayed at home if you still don't feel well." Yuka said with concern in her voice.

"I would die of boredom." I said wearily. The girls chuckled.

"Let's go inside, the school will start soon." Ayumi reminded us and we followed inside to the classroom.

The first class was history. I took out the book and watched the wrapper. I didn't notice it before when I was putting the book in my bag, but the wrapper was different from what I remembered. I looked at it more closely and also at the contents. It was completely different from what I have been learning about the history until now.

The main part? Demons weren't just the fairy tales. Actually, they were the main part of every important event. I could have think of that, Naraku wouldn't let humans to lead the history. I looked at the first chapter and Naraku was already mentioned there. Of course, the book referred to him just like about the Lord. I wondered why he didn't mention his name anywhere and decided that I would have to read this book very closely after I would get back home. It could give me some of the information I needed.

The class started and I tried to listen to the teacher, but I was completely lost very soon since I never heard about this version of history. To my luck, he never asked me anything so no one found out that I knew nothing about it, but if it was about to happen, I was prepared to say that I hit my head and that's why I couldn't remember. I didn't know if it would have actually helped me or not, but fortunately I didn't have to find out.

The rest of the classes were quite the same as I remembered. In some the demons were involved more, somewhere less but it were usually just details so I was able to catch up. Through the whole day I didn't meet a single demon in the school for which I was immensely glad. I considered that they probably had their own schools or completely different system of education. It was understandable, they had to learn other things than humans and they would probably be disgusted if they had to attend the same school as humans.

I somehow managed to pass the school without any serious slip. I chatted with my friends and for a while with Hojo when he came to greet me and give me something. It was something what was supposed to help me with healing the injury caused by that fall. The rumors were really spreading fast, since he was able to prepare some gift for me already. Though, I didn't pay much attention to what exactly was that thing.

After the school I went home and fell exhaustedly on my bed. I was lying like that for a while and then took out the history book, determined to find out as much as possible about Naraku there. I didn't find much of useful info though. The book didn't even mention that Naraku was originally a half-demon so I considered that he manipulated the history for his liking. At least I would know what the teacher would be talking about, now when I read it.

I left my room only when I went to eat the dinner and there I had to listen to mum's yelling as Kei broke something by accident. It seemed that she was quite clumsy and I wanted to help her somehow or comfort her, but I knew I couldn't. It would be strange to do something like that and I couldn't be acting strange so I focused on my food and just tried to ignore what was happening around me. Ignore her, that was the best thing I could do and the only way how to at least not add more suffering to her. I didn't like it, but I couldn't do anything about it. Not now and not here.

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><p>Ok, first part of the story is over. In the next chapter we are going to move on a bit and the things will start to get more interesting (hopefully XD). Also in the next chapter I am planning to do some kind of summary of how it works in this world, so...<p>

Is there something about this world which was left unexplained and where you are not sure about how it works? Something what confuses you? If you have the feeling that something wasn't explained enough, please let me know so I can set it right. I want make everything clear before the next part of the story and your suggestions would really help me in this task. Thank you everyone :).


	6. Birthday

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 06 - Birthday<br>**

By my twentieth birthday, I've been living in this twisted reality for some time. Let's say that I found a way to live here and not get myself into trouble. I mastered my ability to fake emotions since most of the time I couldn't allow anyone to know what I was really thinking. Considering that I used to talk or yell first and then think about what I said, it was quite difficult for me to change. However, after some practice, it became kind of natural for me.

Unfortunately, I didn't find much information about Naraku which would help me in any way. Once in a while I tried to go back into the past through the well, but it never worked. If it did, I would have stayed there or I would change whatever caused this. Even if I managed to change it, I would probably stay in the past anyway. I was fed up with these people around me and even if they acted normally again, I am sure I wouldn't be able to get rid of the memories. They would remind me of this situation for the rest of my life.

Not that they were acting very differently, but the little differences were probably worse than if they behaved completely unlike themselves. For a while, everything seemed to be perfectly normal, and then someone said or did something, which immediately brought me back to reality. It was always as if someone slapped me straight across my face.

In this reality, being a priestess meant that I had to attend special lessons where I've been prepared for my future duty by one older priestess. She was very strict, but also kind. When I went to this lesson for the first time, well, first time for me, she seemed to be disappointed by the fact that I obviously _forgot_ all of our previous lessons. Thankfully, she knew about my _accident_ in the well, so I didn't have to come up with any other excuse. Though, she took in her head that I have to catch up with everything I forgot, so the lessons were usually very tiring. But even though that I was falling behind with my studies, sometimes she found a while and we were just talking. These talks were usually about her previous pupils she was teaching, and about what these girls were doing for the living. From these talks I learned some interesting things.

For humans, priestesses were something like more powerful nurses, who were called by anyone who didn't see any other way for getting help with cure for some illness, when they had troubles with some curse and such things. This was usually the last option, because not all people could afford it considering that due to the low numbers of priestesses, it were quite costly services.

For demons, priestesses were usually just some kind of cops. When some demon gone wild and acted against the rules, they were called to catch those demons and bind them, so they could be taken to the preparation camp. That was probably the place, where most of the demons worked, though I heard the rumors, that even some priestesses were part of it.

As for the other demons, some were owners of prospering companies, where they were hiring humans to do the work for them. They also had the main word in all political manners. Although only humans were present when some crucial questions were discussed, nothing could be approved without agreement of the demons in charge of certain issues. It gave to humans some kind of feeling that they can make decisions of their own, but it was just an illusion. In the end the demons always did only what they wanted, no matter what was originally decided by humans. It didn't seem to bother anyone though.

There were also some, who monitored what the humans were studying, so they wouldn't be taught anything what could be potentially dangerous for them. There was also the possibility that even my studies to become priestess were monitored, but I couldn't be sure and no one ever confirmed it to me. Not that I asked.

Other thing, which was completely in hands of demons, was justice. That was probably the only thing I kind of admired in this reality. Because they weren't fiddling with the criminals, there was really low criminality in the whole country, but the punishment was often really exaggerated. Even only for a small crime, people usually got the death sentence and ended up in the hunting fields.

The result for disobedient demons is quite clear and the only way for them to avoid becoming slave is, if they get killed while they are pursued. Though, some rumors say that even those in the end became slaves. How it was done, no one ever knew and even I couldn't think of any way how could Naraku bring dead back to life. Well, I couldn't figure out a lot of things about him, and I already somehow accepted the fact that probably everything is possible in here.

The doorbell disturbed me from my thoughts and I went to open it. It was Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, the only people other than my family, whom I invited to my birthday.

"Happy Birthday Kagome!" They cheered happily right after I opened the door. I thanked them with smile and let them in. They immediately found their way to the living room, where the party took place, and gathered around the table with all kinds of desserts, chips and other kinds of food prepared by my mum.

At first we were just talking, laughing, enjoying each other's presence and all the food. Then came the time for presents. The one who started it was Souta. He handed me some box wrapped in decorative wrapper, and I immediately started to open it.

It was a wooden box, but not just some ordinary wooden box. On the top side there was photo of our family from when we were at an amusement park two months ago. We asked some passer-by to take the picture, but I would never thought that Souta would use it like this. A few tears escaped from my eyes unconsciously. It was so touching.

"There's nothing inside so you can fill it with anything you find important. This way, you will have all your important things together in one place with us. Even if you move away." Souta smiled kindly and I hugged him.

"Thanks Souta, it's really nice from you." I told him and he blushed a little.

"We have something for you too." Ayumi quickly stepped in, Eri and Yuka standing close behind her. I looked at them and their smiles told me that they were planning something mischievous. They handed me together one decorative paper bag and when I took it from them, they started to giggle. They were trying to stay calm, but it obviously didn't work. I peeked in the bag and saw just some black leather clothes.

"What is that?" I asked and pulled the cloth out.

"What is this supposed to mean!" I almost yelled when I figured out what it was. The girls burst out laughing, Souta and grandpa just cocked their heads and mum's eyes slightly widened. I quickly shoved it back to the bag and glared at my friends.

"What's wrong Kagome? Don't you like it?" Ayumi asked innocently between the laughs. I just kept glaring at them.

"We were browsing through the stores, wondering about what to get you." Yuka added, but was stopped by another wave of laughs.

"And when we saw the costume of Catwoman in one of them, we just couldn't resist." Eri finished still laughing. I stared at them with raised eyebrows for a while and then sighed with chuckle. Their innocent cheerfulness was bringing the feeling of some kind of normality into my life.

I left them in their laughing state and turned at mum and grandpa. They didn't have anything in their hands and it confused me. Not that I would want the presents that much, I really didn't care about that, but this was strange. Grandpa never missed any opportunity to give one of his supposedly powerful stuff to someone and mum…Well, she was my mum and I was her daughter. She's been always taking care of me. I didn't really need her to give me something on my birthday because she's been giving me something my whole life. It may have been my birthday, but other than that it was a day like any other. So technically there was no need for any gifts at all, but it's natural to expect something. It didn't have to be something big or gorgeous, just something small to show that the one cares for the other.

"We were thinking about it for some time and when we discussed it at length. We decided that for your twentieth birthday we should give you something really special." Mum started and I already had really bad feeling about that.

"We decided that we will give you a slave as a birthday gift."

I stared at her in disbelief. What did she say? A slave? I didn't want a slave. I had already hard time enough to act around Kei how it was expected. I couldn't have my own slave. For what reason anyway? I didn't need some poor puppet to serve me.

I glanced over my friends and saw the excitement on their faces. Of course, in _their _minds there was no one who wouldn't want their own slave. Some people had even more of them. I, however, didn't want any part of it. Yet, if there was someone like that, they would look suspicious. I didn't want to look suspicious. I couldn't, if I didn't want to meet Naraku personally.

"That's great mum!" I wrapped my arms around her neck and imitated the excitement I saw on my friends. Mum just chuckled.

"I knew it would make you happy." She smiled and I smiled at her. But my thoughts were completely different. She couldn't possibly choose a worse gift for my birthday.


	7. Shopping

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 07 - Shopping<br>**

Yuka, Ayumi, Eri and I were walking through the market. Right after my mum announced that she would give me a slave for my birthday, they immediately decided that they would help me to choose the best one.

"Aw, there are all so ugly." Ayumi groaned, breaking me away from my thoughts, and turned at me. "I don't think you would like to see such ugliness everyday, would you Kagome?" I looked over the slaves which were displayed on the side of the road like any other market goods.

From what I could assume, they were all just low-leveled demons and most of them didn't even resemble humans in any way. Sure, they were just demons, but they were still living beings and to see them here like this was strange. I didn't like it. I didn't like this twisted reality but I knew I couldn't do anything about that.

"I guess so." I answered. Maybe if I pretended that none of them caught my eye, I wouldn't have to buy anyone of them.

"You said that your mum doesn't mind about the price?" Eri asked. I nodded and her face lit up in excitement.

"Then why do we waste our time here, I know about a much more interesting part of this market." She winked at the rest of us and already led us through the crowds. I didn't like the way in which she said it and I didn't have the slightest idea where she could lead us. I always avoided these places, it would only remind me just how wicked this world was.

As Eri was dragging us through the crowd, I noticed that the demons on the sides were changing into more powerful ones. There was more of them whose appearance was closer to humans and even the buyers seemed to be more wealthy in these parts.

As we were moving ahead, the demons were more human-like and they also had less clothes on them. We were in the male part and most of the buyers were women so it wasn't hard to guess for what reason they would buy them. I shivered at the thought and tried to ignore the talks of my friends as they were commenting everything what they were seeing.

I unconsciously glanced over the slaves on the side and I noticed the familiarity in one of them. I stopped to take a better look. Even though he looked quite different, I was sure it was him. He had only short pants on, like the others beside him. His hair were cut short and he didn't have his markings either. I took a step forward and noticed that on the places where his markings used to be, there were only light scars.

"Did some of them catch your eye?" Eri asked. I didn't even notice them when they came back to me and I didn't pay them much attention now either. I was focused on the display in front of me. How could they do this to him?

"Which one? The first in the row?" Ayumi tried to find out which one I was interested in.

"Well, any of them would be a good choice Kagome." Yuka patted me on my back in appreciation. I ignored her and instead started to walk to the seller.

"How much do you want for this one?" I pointed at the one about whom I was sure was the demon I once knew, hoping that no one will notice the real purpose of my interest. He looked at him, then back at me and said in kind voice.

"I don't think he is suitable for you young lady. He was very persistent during the preparations. It took us more than 400 years before we were able to display him here. He will need someone more experienced than you." _Preparations_. How I hated that word. It sounded so innocent, and yet I knew there was something horrible hiding behind it.

"I'm sure I can take care of him, don't worry." I said sternly. I didn't want _him_ to end up in hands of some of those women. It was hard enough to admit that he actually ended up as a slave. I couldn't imagine what he must have gone through during those 400 years. I let some of my spiritual powers to show themselves and the seller's eyes widened in surprise for a second.

"Oh, a priestess, it changes everything. Now I don't have any complaints for this trade." He smirked. We made the contract and he used the spell to bond him to me. The bonding spell ensured the complete obedience of the slave towards their master. The slave then has to protect their master even at the cost of their own life, follow all their master's orders, and listen to their every whim.

I tried to pretend that everything is normal and how it should be, but I couldn't help to feel bad. This was just so wrong and I couldn't do anything about it. But this was also the only way how to get him out of this place.

I was returning back to the girls, Sesshoumaru following me obediently. I glanced back at the seller and saw his wicked smile. Why would he smile like that? He shouldn't care about us, but he seemed to be pleased by the fact that I just bought Sesshoumaru. He reached for the phone and I whispered quietly, so only Sesshoumaru could hear me.

"Listen to what the seller will be talking about in the phone, you'll tell me about that later." He nodded slightly and I was already surrounded by my friends. They were praising me for my choice but I hardly heard them. They weren't saying anything important anyway and I had many other things to think about.

I wanted to go home as soon as possible. I needed to settle my thoughts, and I needed to be alone to do so. I tried to avoid looking at Sesshoumaru, he was much too different from how I knew him and I just couldn't get used to it.

"How will you name him?" Ayumi asked and I looked at her.

_Name him?_ He already had a name but I doubted I could use his real name. What name I could give him?

"I don't know yet, I will have to think about it." I answered and I saw the sparkle in their eyes.

"Maybe we could help." Yuka winked at me and I just nodded, though I wasn't planning to really listen to them. None of the names which they could think of would be suitable for him. It was strange enough to be even thinking about giving him some name and there was no way I could give him just some ordinary name. He was always so far above ordinary.

On the way home we stopped at the clothing store, where I bought him some more suitable clothes, though it was still far from his standards. After we left the market, the girls separated from us and I let my mask slip a little.

I looked at him and when I saw the emotionless expression on his face, I let out a sigh and started to walk towards our house. The expression on his face wasn't the one of the cold-blooded killer who doesn't care about anyone. It was rather the look of someone who's completely lost.

At this time I was lost myself. I thought that nothing could surprise me anymore, but obviously I was wrong. Now I had to deal with a situation which, a short time ago, I considered to be impossible.


	8. Her Slave

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 08 - Her Slave<br>**

I was walking close behind her, just as it was expected, but for some reason I could feel the annoyance coming from her. She was trying to hide it at first, but when her friends left, I could feel it much stronger. I didn't understand her and I wasn't sure what I should expect from her, but she definitely raised my interest.

She caught my attention almost immediately, the first second I saw her going through the crowd. She was different from the others, she was acting differently and I could tell right away that she didn't like it there in the least. In that case a question raised in my mind. _Why would she __come to this place at all if she didn't like it __here?_ I didn't have the answer for that question and it peeked my interest for her even more. Though, it weren't just her actions, but also her face.

I still have the feeling as if I knew her from somewhere before, though there's no way that could be possible. She's just a human and I didn't meet any human for the last 400 years, excluding the priestesses working in the preparations. She was rather a memory from much before, but no human could live that long.

I was even more surprised when _she_ noticed me for the first time. It looked as if she also knew me, but as long as I didn't know all the information, I couldn't do much more than what's expected from me. That was also my plan from the start, to get away from Naraku's watch and then there could be a chance to escape, but maybe I could wait a little longer with my plan.

I wanted to find out why she looked so familiar and why she acted so differently. I knew that the chance I would remember anything was next to nothing, but I had to at least try. Even now I remember very little from my previous life and from the people I knew at that time. I can hardly recall their faces, but even when I do, I don't know whom those faces belong. It was hard enough to keep myself aware of who I once was and this way to have at least a small chance to escape.

I knew that Naraku didn't believe for a long time that I really forgot everything, and he was right, but in the end I managed to convince him through my acting. It wasn't an easy task. The only thing I wanted to do when he was within my reach was to kill him, but I wasn't able to do that even when I was in my full strength, especially after he became a full demon. I planned to escape and gather allies and powers to defeat him, but that could wait for now. Right now she was the center of my interest and it wouldn't change until I learned more about her.

"Now, when we are alone, you can tell me what was that phone call about." She stepped into my thoughts and I nodded. This was another thing which surprised me about her. I was planning to listen to that conversation on my own, but I didn't see any reason for her to tell me to do it. But then again, I already knew she was different from the others and this was just another example of that.

**Flashback**

I listened to the conversation which was held through that phone call. I didn't need to think about it twice to realize who the seller was talking to.

"Milord, the one you were interested in just got sold." The seller started and if not for my long experiences with self control, I would have growled. So Naraku still kept his watch on me. I couldn't blame him. Unlike the other demons in preparations, I was his enemy for quite a long time, so I wasn't so surprised that he was taking it personally.

"Good job. I will make sure you will get the reward you deserve. Now tell me some more details about the person who bought him." The seller smirked again before he started.

"Well, I'm sure you will be really pleased with the news. He was bought by a young girl." He started and I could hear Naraku snicker on the other side of the line. "And what's more," the seller continued, "the girl is a priestess." Now it was just Naraku's evil laugh coming from the phone.

"That's really great success. I knew I should entrust this task to you. Once again you didn't disappoint me. I think I will have to see this on my own eyes. Send me the address as soon as possible." Naraku said.

"Sure, I'll send it to you right away." The seller immediately responded and with that the phone call ended.

**End flashback **

"Damn that Naraku! How wicked can one person get?" She exclaimed when I finished retelling her what I heard and I stopped in surprise. I was sure I didn't mention Naraku's name in any part while I was talking, and yet she just knew it. Even though I was isolated most of the time, I knew that he didn't let anyone to know his name, so how could she know it? She turned towards me when she noticed I wasn't following, and I waited for what she was going to say.

"Oh, sorry if I startled you. I was just irritated. Don't mind me." That surprised me even more. Under normal circumstances it should have been me to apologize for not following her, for stopping without her allowing me to, but instead she just apologized to me for no reason at all.

"Come on, let's go. I wanted to be at home by now." She turned and I followed her. It didn't take her long before she looked at me again.

"So, I heard I'm supposed to give you some name, any idea?" She asked.

_Is she serious?_ I understood her less and less every minute. _Did she really just give me a chance to decide this on my own?_

"No." I said simply. I didn't want to risk anything and the way she was acting was starting to give me suspicions, that she could be just testing me. I started to wonder if this all was just part of Naraku's plan to make sure if I really forgot everything. Even though I heard that conversation, I still couldn't be sure if it wasn't just faked.

"You're not helping me, you know?" She scowled. "Fine, I'll try to think about something by myself." She added and started to think. I watched her. Her face became contorted from emotions. She smiled when she probably found some good name and then frowned when she dismissed it again. She was obviously giving it a lot of importance. After a while of this, one smile stayed on her face and she turned at me.

"What about Nori? Do you like it?" She asked again for my opinion and I just nodded, though, watching her thinking about what name she should give me was quite entertaining.

"What's with that amused face?" She frowned and it took me aback. I wasn't aware I would let my thoughts show on my expression and I quickly looked away, trying to put myself under control again.

"I'm sorry." I said to save my situation and when I looked at her, for some reason I saw an anger in her eyes.

"Don't ever apologize to me for anything!" She pointed her finger at me and again, I just stared at her.

"Yes Master." I said simply, not knowing how else I should react at this, but she just glared at me more and added another order right away.

"And don't call me Master! Kagome is fine." She rather sighed than ordered and I just nodded.

"Fine, now when this is settled, let's just get home already, I need to rest." She sped up, so she was almost running. It didn't give me any trouble to keep close to her, but her reactions really startled me.

_Never apologize to her? Why would she give me such order?_ Though, once it was said, I couldn't do anything against it, even if I wanted to. Actually, this order wasn't really unpleasant for me. I also appreciated that she didn't want me to call her master, even though that it was strange for her to suggest something like that as well.

We reached Kagome's home pretty quickly, considering the pace she decided to take. Even though I expected her to be exhausted by the near-sprinting pace, she didn't show much signs of it. I assumed that she was probably used to this kind of exercise.

"Hi mum, grandpa, Souta, I'm back!" Kagome called right after we entered the house. A woman, an old man and a boy who was just a little younger than Kagome came into our view almost immediately. I stood right behind her so she was practically covering me with her body, but I was much taller, so I didn't have any trouble to see what's going on.

"Hey Kags, so how did it go?" The boy started excitedly, soon followed by the woman.

"Let us see. We're all curious." She said and I could, once again, feel the girl's irritation.

"Mum, come on." Kagome whined, but her mother just smiled.

"Kagome, you really think that we wouldn't want to see your choice?" This time Kagome also smiled, but I could tell it was just an act. Though, I had to admit that it was a good one and her family was easily deceived by it.

"Of course I know that, I just wanted to tease you a little." She grinned. "Here he is." She stepped aside and pointed at me. Her family was examining me very closely, just like anyone else would do, everyone except Kagome.

Now the mystery about her just grew even bigger. I would have thought that she's gotten her manners from her family, but her family acted like everyone else. What would make her change her behavior like this? Moreover, Kagome was pretending to act the same as every other human.

"I think you chose well." Her mother commented and Kagome smiled. "Did you give him a name already?" She then asked and Kagome nodded.

"Yes, I'll call him Nori." She said, but her mother looked at her horrified.

"Kagome, I don't think this is the proper name for a slave. Maybe you could think of something else." She tried. I had to admit that she was right. I didn't think about it much the first time, but now I realized that it really wasn't very suitable for someone on my current position. Though, Kagome just folded her arms and looked at her mother with determination.

"I'm not going to change it. I like that name and he is _my_ slave so I can give him any name I want, can't I?" She practically yelled and her mother almost took a step back.

Kagome was really determined to win this argument, though I could hear a slight change in intonation when she said the word slave.

"Uh- umm, sure." Her mother stuttered, taken back by her daughter's reaction. Kagome then turned at me, still a little bit angry, but with satisfaction.

"Let's go." She said simply and started to walk up the stairs. I followed her and when we were both in her room, she closed the door and fell exhaustedly on her bed.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I can't take this anymore!" She mumbled into her pillow and I wondered what I was supposed to do. I could smell her tears and I didn't understand to what she meant by her statement, so I just stood there waiting for her to do or say something. After a while she sat up and looked at me.

"I'm sorry about them." She said apologetically and then sighed, dropping her head and looking on the ground. That was the second time already when she apologized to me and I decided I would try my luck a little.

"You told me not to apologize to you, I don't see it necessary for you to apologize to me, maybe it would be better if we both stopped doing it." I suggested and she slowly raised her head to look at me. She was surprised by my suggestion and I wasn't sure if I didn't go too far, but then a huge smile spread across her face.

"Sure, that sounds fair." She said happily. Then she again paused in thought.

"Say." She started and I didn't like the look in her eyes. "Do you remember anything from before?" She asked seriously.

I was in shock. Could she really have been sent by Naraku? As I pondered over the answer, she sighed and laid back on the bed.

"Never mind. Could you please tell mum that I'll pass on dinner? I think I will go to sleep early."

"Hn." I stated and she chuckled. I didn't see any reason for that and it unsettled me, but I didn't have much time to think about it as she started again.

"Oh, that reminds me." She sat up again. "I have no place for you to sleep." She said, almost panicking.

"I don't need to sleep. At least not as much as humans." I stated and she sighed.

"Of course you don't. I should have thought of that. But still, you have to sleep sometimes." She pointed out.

"When the time comes, I'll find myself some place to sleep. You don't need to be bothered about that at all." I explained to her and she just sighed.

"Ok." She said reluctantly and fell on her bed again.

It was still just afternoon, but she fell asleep almost immediately and when I was sure she wouldn't wake up, I went down to inform her mother about dinner. On my way I also reminded myself that I would have to be even more vigilant from now on. This time it worked out somehow, but the next time I might not be that lucky. If she really was sent by Naraku, then I couldn't take any risks.

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><p>In case you're wondering about it, the name Nori means 'to rule', that's why they considered it as not suitable for a slave XD.<p> 


	9. Orders

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 09 - Orders<strong>

Even though I said I would pass dinner, my body decided otherwise and I woke up to the growling of my stomach. I sat up and looked around my room. Sesshoumaru wasn't here, so I decided I would go downstairs to see if he's there and also if there's some chance for me to get something to eat. I reached the kitchen and the first thing I noticed was that mum was somewhat angry.

"Is something wrong?" I asked and mum jumped in surprise.

"Kagome, don't scare me like that, I thought you were sleeping." She was looking at me with wide eyes, as if she saw a ghost.

"Well, I was, but my stomach decided I won't get anymore sleep until I eat something. By the way, do you know where... uhm... Nori is?" I asked with smile, but in fact I just wanted to slap myself. I almost said his real name. Though, my thoughts were interrupted when mum grew only more upset. Now I at least knew that for whatever reason she was angry, it was somehow connected with Sesshoumaru.

"Kagome..." She said slowly in a low voice. Not a good sign. "You forgot to tell him to listen to our orders as well. With you it's natural because of the bonding spell, but he won't listen to us unless you tell him so. After he told me that you were sleeping and that you wouldn't come for the dinner, I wanted him to help me with something, but he just told me that I'm not his master and that he doesn't have to listen to me." Mum finished in a huff and I had to hold back the chuckle.

She was right, I completely forgot about that fact. Not that I was about to set it right. I was actually glad that I was the only one who could give him some order and I didn't want anyone else to be ordering him around.

"I didn't forget about it." I lied with smile. "But I don't want anyone else giving him orders. I might do an exception for a short time in special occasions, but nothing permanent." I told her and I expected her to be complaining about it, but she did nothing like that. She was just watching me for a while and then sighed.

"Alright. I understand." She said and then smirked. "Though, I didn't think you would become so possessive about him, especially so quickly. But I can't blame you, I would probably act the same way if I was in your place." She winked at me and I looked at her shocked, but then I smiled, glad that it went so smoothly.

"Thank you, but why didn't you ask Kei to help you?" I asked, suddenly noticing that I didn't see her since we returned from the market.

"She is useless." Mum snapped. "I sent her to the basement otherwise I would have to kill her. She really brings more trouble than help." She was almost growling as she was saying that and I had to keep myself from frowning.

She again sent Kei to the basement. It was mum's way of punishing her, to send her down there and let her wait until mum released her. I remembered the time when she left her there for almost two weeks and then fetched her only because she needed her help. I couldn't be sure how long she would be there this time.

"I see." I said simply, not knowing what else to say. "Could you tell me now where Nori is?" I asked then to change the topic back to the start. She just pointed towards the living room.

As I entered the living room, I spotted him almost immediately. He was sitting in the corner, cross legged, with crossed arms and closed eyes. I was amazed how even in this situation he managed to look so graceful and it made me smile. Though I quickly put my smile away as I remembered something which was bothering me. I decided I would try to find out if I was right about my suspicions.

When we were talking in my room before, I had the feeling as if he still remembered at least something from his past, but considering the rules in this reality, he just wasn't sure if he should tell me. I knew normally the masters wouldn't want their slaves to remember anything. That's why I didn't insist on my question, but I wasn't like the others and I wanted him to know his past.

The most surprising part of our conversation was, when he suggested not to apologize to each other, which I believe any other slave, for example Kei, would never do. On the other hand, maybe I was just imagining things and that suggestion wasn't anything unusual at all. Maybe I just really wanted him to remember the past so much and this was all just a hope which couldn't become real. But still, it was a hope.

I walked up to him and when he noticed me, he opened his eyes and started to rise up.

"Don't bother standing, I'll be quick." I told him and he nodded, sitting back.

"I thought you said you don't need to sleep." I stated then.

"I wasn't sleeping, I was resting." He answered calmly, as if it should be obvious and I almost sighed.

"Yeah, that makes sense." I said sarcastically.

"By the way, I heard that you refused to help my mum." I said, waiting for his reaction.

"She isn't my master. I have no reason to obey any of her orders. If you wish for me to do that, tell me so and I will. Right now you are the only one whose orders will be fulfilled." He explained. I gave him a genuine smile.

"Actually, I like it the way it is now. Though, if I won't be around and someone from my family, that means mum, grandpa or Souta, will need to help with something, I would be glad if you helped them. It's not that you have to, it will just be appreciated. Ok?" He just watched me for a while and then nodded.

"Good. Now I'm going to eat something and then I will go back to my room, so you can continue in whatever you're doing." I turned to go back to the kitchen and when I glanced back at him, he had already closed his eyes again.

"Helping us, but only if he wants? I don't think this is the right way how to be dealing with him." Mum started right when I entered the kitchen, but instead of an answer I just glared at her.

"Ok, ok, I get it. He is yours and you will do as you wish, right?" She quickly added and I smiled.

"Exactly." I grinned and she sighed. I quickly ate the dinner she handed me and then returned to my room. I took a quick shower and then went back to sleep. Though, because of the nap I had before, I couldn't fall asleep and it gave me time to think.

I would have to start to think about Sesshoumaru with his new name. Today I almost said the wrong name in front of mum, and if I didn't stop myself in time, it could become quite an awkward moment. Not to mention if it somehow reached to Naraku…

Sesshoumaru... no, Nori didn't do anything out of ordinary this time and I started to wonder if I really just began to see things which didn't mean anything.

There was no way that Naraku would let him go if he still remembered something of his past, and I couldn't imagine him to be acting like this if he did. It would require perfect self control, which he, no doubt, had, but it still seemed to be impossible to me. I could imagine he would be able to deceive me, but Naraku?

Either way I would need to find out if he remembers something or not, and if he does, then what, but without proof I can't confront him about it. I know that I could probably make him to tell me the truth through order, but I don't want to be giving him orders when it's not necessary, and this isn't really that important as to call for an order.

…or is it?


	10. The Factory Of Hell

Beta Reader: animefollower101

A little warning, this chapter is in Naraku's POV ;).

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><p><strong>Chapter 10 – The Factory Of Hell<strong>

I hung up the phone with a huge smirk on my face. The outcome of this couldn't be better. It pleased me enough to see him in the position of just an ordinary slave, but to think that he would end up as a slave of a priestess, I couldn't hope for better news.

I remember the day I captured him. On that day, Sesshoumaru lost twice. He not only failed to protect himself, but also the girl he promised to take care of.

Sesshoumaru really was a pathetic fool. First, he was taking care of that human girl and then it was this little demoness. Not that I would mind, after all, his protectiveness over these girls always served well to my purposes.

Sometimes I regret that I killed that girl's parents so quickly. They would make really great slaves, but unfortunately this idea came to me too late. It was a good thing that Sesshoumaru was escaping me for so long. It would be really a shame to just kill him.

I went downstairs where I entered my trophy room and the feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed me upon seeing my collection. I had here the most important thing of everyone who ever tried to oppose me, though it started to be a little overfilled. I would have to move them into a bigger room soon. Normally, I would enjoy looking through them and recall the memories of the former owners of all these things, but today I came here only to see one.

Tenseiga. The sword both despised and cherished by its previous owner. I took it in my hands and could feel the power of it. I myself used this sword a few times on those who were trying to escape me, hoping the death would save them. I loved their horrified expressions when they realized they were alive again. This also usually served very well to break them completely, seeing that even in death they wouldn't find escape. This sword was really very useful to me since I learned how to properly use it.

I returned it back on it's pedestal, and looked at the sword right next to it. Tetsusaiga. Getting this to my collection was also interesting. It was really fun to chase its wielder down. I could sense his irritation all the time.

I really enjoyed the moment when I appeared in front of him after he thought I was defeated. When the initial shock waned, he immediately attacked me, but couldn't kill me.

No one can, even now.

Inuyasha tried desperately to find and destroy my heart, but there was no way for him to succeed. I myself don't know exactly where it is hidden. I just know it's in safe place and that's what matters.

After I became full demon, thanks to the fact that my heart was in other place, I obtained another life source. Meaning, whoever would want to kill me would have to destroy both those sources, so I don't even bother searching for the other one.

However, Inuyasha's search gave me perfect opportunity to set up a trap and soon I captured him. I couldn't use him as a slave. No one would ever buy him anyway. Half-demons were always despised and I just added to this hatred later, but death would be too kind to him. I came up with the solution long before he was tamed completely and I was very pleased with it.

I would have to go to pay him a visit before I would go to Sesshoumaru. I still have suspicions that he has some memories of his former life left and maybe he could react at the smell of his little brother. He certainly did at the start of the preparations.

They grew closer after that priestess left and even more when I returned. They didn't show it much, but I knew that and it was enough. The more amusing it was to tear them apart again. I enjoyed torturing them the normal way, but I've got the best reactions when they could smell the blood of the other one on me.

I turned away from the swords, forcing myself to leave those pleasant memories and started to walk towards my next destination. I didn't have to go far, I was keeping all the half-demons within my reach so I could keep an eye on them. There wasn't many of them. They either died during the preparations already, or during their work here. Either way was acceptable as long as they didn't die while they were trying to escape.

I entered the underground factory. One could call it hell upon seeing it, but that was exactly the impression I wanted to give to its visitors. Walking through the place, I began searching for Inuyasha. In a place like this, one really couldn't depend on their sense of smell. All the scents were mixed together, creating one anew, which was far from pleasant for any nose.

The hearing sense also wasn't very useful in here. There were huge machines, which were obnoxiously loud, making it practically impossible to be able to hear anything else, much less to hold some conversation. Not that I would need to talk with someone in here.

There was no ventilation and since the machines were emitting quite a lot of heat, it was starting to be too much, even for me, to be able to deal with it. So I focused on finding Inuyasha as fast as possible.

A few of the workers passed me during my search, without even paying me a little attention. It wasn't really that surprising. They were doing various jobs here, just what was needed at the moment, but all of this work could bring them harm or even death if they didn't focus on their task properly.

They usually had many scars on them, which even their demon blood wasn't able to heal anymore. They've got the scars either from the preparations or from some accident which occasionally happens here. They were really in pitiful state, all of them.

I spotted Inuyasha and came up to him. At first he didn't even notice me, completely caught up in his task, just like everyone else. I had to admit that sometimes I missed his ranting, but never as much as to return him his memories.

I grabbed his arm and he looked at me with fear as he finally noticed my presence. He wanted to bow in front of me, which made me smirk, but I didn't let him to do it and with my claws I pierced his skin, which drew out a few drops of his blood and made him to shake in fear.

After he completely submitted, he became very obedient, but he hated when he didn't know what he was supposed to do. So, naturally, I never let him to do what he thought I was expecting from him and I never let him know what I really wanted.

Not that I wanted him to do something in particular and that made this little game even more amusing. Only after a few first meetings with him, he started to fear me even when I didn't do anything.

Even now I could see the strong fear in his eyes and it was raising every second as I was just standing there, doing nothing, only holding his arm and letting his blood onto my hand. When I had enough of him, I just turned around and started to walk away. I've got what I came here for so there was no need for me to stay in this place any longer.

After a few steps I turned around to look back at him, just to observe his actions, and saw him as he was aiding his arm. Though, when he noticed I was watching him, he quickly started to do his work again. I smirked and this time I walked all the way out without looking back.

Once outside, I looked at my hand with Inuyasha's blood still on it. The smell of it would surely linger there until the next day for when I was planning my visit to Sesshoumaru's new home. I was really curious if he would react or not, but either way I was sure it would be very entertaining.

The once proud lord of the western lands was now a slave of some priestess and I couldn't say I wasn't curious about her as well.

I returned to my office and sat down on my very comfortable armchair. I wasn't planning to go to sleep, I didn't need to anyway, so I used this time for contemplating about various possibilities for what I could do on the next day's visit to make it as enjoyable as possible.

I had a huge smirk on my face as the ideas were coming one after another and I only barely held back. I couldn't allow my imagination to loose too much, because I didn't want anyone to know my real purpose of this visit, but the thoughts themselves were enough to already make my day.

I was really starting to find it difficult to wait for the morning to come.


	11. The Visit

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 11 - The Visit<strong>

I was sitting in the corner, listening to everything what was happening around me and taking in all the scents. I already figured out that there was one more demon slave in the house. I could tell she was a wolf demon, but what unsettled me was the familiarity of that scent.

First it was the priestess and now her family's slave. What connection could there be? I didn't see anything what could give me any answer. Naraku's influence in my life and my memories was way bigger than I would be comfortable to admit.

As I've been thinking about him, I had the feeling as if his smell reached my nose. _Could it be my imagination playing tricks on me?_ I focused on that smell and realized it wasn't just an imagination. I stayed still though, even when I already figured out that he was heading here. In a short while there was a knock on the door and Kagome's mother went to open it.

"Hello! How... can... I..." She didn't even finish her question as she realized who she was talking to.

"Hello, may I come in?" Naraku started with kind voice and without even waiting for her to answer, he entered. She then just closed the door again and followed him completely speechless. He was unmistakably heading into the living room, obviously curious about me. As he entered, I stood up and bowed. I couldn't afford to let him think that I know anything.

Even though I didn't have to obey his orders more than anyone else, I still had to show proper respect. As he came closer, I noticed another smell on him, though, this one unsettled me more than his own.

It was the scent of blood, but the worst thing about it was, that it was somehow familiar to me. Again. I hated that this was happening to me and I hated the smell of this blood.

A small smirk formed on his face and I noticed I was clenching my fists. I relaxed again, but it was very unlikely that he didn't see that. I knew he was testing me again and I was irritated by that and by the smell, which seemed to be getting stronger every second, and which I couldn't place to a person whom it belonged.

"Uhm, what can I do for you?" Kagome's mother asked uncertainly. Naraku watched me a little longer before he turned at her.

"Who is his master?" He asked simply.

"My daughter. Is there any problem with him?" She started a little panicking.

"I would just like to meet her if that's possible." He continued in a kind, soft baritone.

"I think she's still sleeping, but I can wake her up." She suggested.

"Oh, you don't need to wake her up. I have enough time. Let's just wait until she wakes up on her own." He waved it off. I knew he just wanted to lengthen the time spent here so he could watching my reactions.

"Ok, can I offer you something until then? I'm afraid I don't have much, but I can go to buy something. I didn't expect any visitors, especially not someone like you, but I'm really honored by your presence." The woman kept babbling, obviously very nervous of her visitor.

"Don't worry about that, anything you offer me will be fine." Naraku told her. She bowed and went to the kitchen. When she was out of sight, Naraku turned back at me.

"Tell me Sesshoumaru, wouldn't it be easier to just really forget everything about yourself than keep this pretending?" He asked, not really expecting any answer from me. I stayed silent, there was nothing I could say at this without giving myself away.

"Well, it's your choice, personally I think this is way more amusing." He smirked and at that moment Kagome's mother returned, stopping our little one-sided conversation. She brought a tea and some biscuits and they both sat down.

Her nervousness didn't seem to cease a bit during the time Naraku spent here, quite the opposite, and as neither of them was saying anything, the atmosphere was starting to be very thick. The only one who seemed to be unaffected by that atmosphere was Naraku himself.

Just as the awkwardness of the silence reached its top and I started to think of going for Kagome just so this could stop already, our attention was drawn upstairs as she herself left her room and started to walk down the stairs.

The first thing I noticed about her when she entered the living room was pure shock on her face. I focused my vision on her. It was almost as if she sensed his presence in the house, but didn't believe he was really here until she saw him with her own eyes.

She immediately masked her emotion as a simple surprise which she then changed into that of respect and bowed respectfully. I knew it was just faked, but that was only because I already saw her pretending like this before. If I didn't, I was sure I wouldn't realize it at all and I hoped Naraku wouldn't notice either.

However, Naraku's reaction was also pretty unexpected. When he first saw her, I could tell that he was clearly surprised, but just as with Kagome, his expression also changed pretty quickly, though not as quickly as hers. His expression now showed a small knowing smirk accompanied with almost unnoticeable chuckle.

"So this is your time." He whispered so quietly that I was sure no one else was able to hear that. His words confused me but I didn't have much time to think about it as Naraku started to talk, this time for everyone to hear.

"You are the master of this slave?" He asked and when she nodded, he continued. "What's your name?"

"My name is Kagome." She answered, keeping her head bowed. At the moment I wasn't sure anymore if it was to show him respect or to hide her real emotions.

"Kagome, huh? Come closer." Naraku ordered and she made a few steps forward, still not looking up. When she was close enough, he took her chin into his hand and raised her head to make her look into his eyes. While his eyes showed interest, her eyes on the other hand showed absolutely nothing.

As he kept examining her, I was starting to become restless. It was one of the priority duties of each slave to protect their master and since I knew Naraku's real nature, everything inside me was screaming to protect her from him. However, those were still only my feelings and no matter how truthful they might be, as long as there was no solid proof that Kagome would be in danger, I couldn't do anything, especially against Naraku.

He slid his hand on her neck and even though she was still trying to hide it, I could see her discomfort of the closeness between them. He must have noticed it too, because his smirk widened a bit and I was starting to wonder if I would be able to react quickly enough if he really did something to her. They were too close for me to be sure about that.

If I acted too soon, me and the whole family would be in trouble. A slave attacking the Lord of this land without a proper reason would have a really bad outcome. On the other hand, if I acted too late, then I might fail to protect her.

It wasn't that Naraku would have to be worried that someone would accuse him for killing her. Firstly, there's hardly anyone who would dare to go against him and if he wanted to cover it up somehow then there were several ways how to do it. He would either kill the whole family and then put the blame on someone else or he could just say that this family did something against the law and this was just their punishment.

No one would doubt his words whichever way he would choose. No matter how did it look on the outside, the truth was that his word was the law and at the moment there was no one who could change anything about that.

Naraku moved his hand a bit lower on Kagome's chest, which started to rise and fall rapidly due to her fastened breathing. I could also hear her heart beating violently just under Naraku's hand and her eyes now started to show panic. Even Kagome's mother had panicked expression on her face and just when I was sure I couldn't stay away any longer, Naraku drew his hand away and turned to leave. Without a word of explanation or even a single greeting, he left the house, leaving us three standing in the living room just as we were the whole time.

We stayed there like this for several seconds longer, neither Kagome nor her mother said anything, even though the older woman was watching her daughter with worry in her eyes. Then, without any warning, Kagome suddenly shot out of the room and up the stairs. Without thinking, both me and her mother followed her, only to be stopped by the locked door leading to her bathroom.

"Kagome, sweetie, are you alright?" Her mother started worriedly. There was silence for a while before we've got an answer.

"I would just like to be alone for a while." Kagome said, her voice sounded as if she had a hard time speaking.

"Are you sure?" The worry in her voice only deepening.

"I am. Please, just go." Was again a tired reply from behind the door.

"Ok then. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs." The woman reluctantly started to walk away from the room and silently closed the door behind her.

"Is she gone?" I heard a silent whisper coming from the bathroom, surely meant only for me to hear. With this it seemed she had more faith in me than in her own mother and it unsettled me a little, but first I needed to answer her.

"Yes. It's only me here." I told her and the next second the lock on the door clicked, but the door itself didn't open. I hesitated for a moment and then slowly opened it.

* * *

><p>I was sitting in my car, slowly getting used to the feeling I hadn't experienced for such a long time, yet which was the most natural thing for every living being. When I was preparing for this visit, I didn't expect it would be this beneficial. I was anticipating the meeting with Sesshoumaru in his new home, but I didn't expect to meet the priestess I was searching for as well, though, not that I have been putting such effort into that matter.<p>

I was surprised when I learned that she was from the future, all that time ago. However, it gave me an idea for a perfect plan. Being from another time, moreover from the future, made her an ideal hiding place for my heart, and her departure to her own time gave me centuries of fearless life. It was all the more safer as she herself didn't know about this little set up.

At first I wasn't planning to draw it back from her, as I saw it only as a nuisance while it was inside of my own body, but the presence of her and Sesshoumaru at one place unsettled me a bit. Moreover, if I wasn't mistaken, that wolf girl was in the house as well.

Was it just a coincidence or did she gather them on purpose? She was the only person about whom I couldn't be really sure how much she knew about the world as it is right now. I knew that she wasn't traveling back to the past while I was in charge. I made sure that I was given information about any abnormality, especially considering young priestesses, and since she spent so much time with Inuyasha during her visits in the past, it would be impossible that no one here would notice her disappearances.

That knowledge left me with only two possibilities. After she returned here, she either forgot about what happened in the past, or came here with no knowledge about the settings of this world. Her body was still the same though, otherwise I wouldn't be able to retrieve my heart from her, but I couldn't be sure about her mind and memories.

Even when I tried to do some research about time-traveling, there weren't many who would know anything and those who did weren't willing to tell. Not even with my well-honed persuasion skills, which left me with very little about this issue.

I decided it would be for the best to keep an eye on her and gather some information about her on my own. Though, even if her mind hasn't changed, I didn't see her as a real threat. The only possibility for her to harm me in any way was just taken away from her, and even that wouldn't really endanger my life. Not anymore.


	12. Despair

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 12 - Despair<strong>

"Is she gone?" I whispered as silently as I could, making sure that the only one who could hear me would be Nori. Even though I didn't see that woman with the face of my mother as my real mum, I still didn't want to hurt her.

"Yes. It's only me here." I heard the calm reply and I sighed in relief. Even though Nori was also different from who he used to be, here I had at least a chance that there was something from his former self left. After all, I knew him 500 years ago, and the world changed only after that.

I reached for the lever to unlock the door, but stayed on the ground. I had no idea what Naraku did to me, but I've never felt this sick in my whole life.

When he touched me earlier, I felt as if his touch would tear my skin apart. My heart started to beat so fast that I couldn't even follow the rhythm anymore. When he touched my chest, I felt as if he really tore something straight out of me and I almost couldn't breath. At that moment the only thing I wanted to do was to cry for help, but even if I wasn't afraid of his reaction to that, I couldn't make a single sound.

After Naraku left, I was still too shocked to do anything, but instead of getting better, I started to feel even worse than in his presence, if that was possible at all. I thought I would start to vomit, so I quickly ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. In the end, it didn't come to that, so I just stayed sitting on the ground and hoped the sickness would go away soon.

Soon after I unlocked the door, it started to open and Nori stepped in. My breathing was slowly returning to normal, but when I saw him, it brought a few tears to my eyes. Each passing day I found it more and more difficult to pretend that everything around me was how it should be and after Naraku's visit today, I was pretty certain that I wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.

Maybe I would be able to deal with it better, if I just didn't have to meet all those familiar faces around me. First with Sesshoumaru and now even Naraku, the only thing I started to think about was: _Who will be next?_

The faces of my other friends started to appear in my mind and it only brought me deeper in my misery. Miroku. Sango. I just hoped they had happy life together. They were human, so I wasn't expecting to see them in this time, but what about the others? Shippo. Inuyasha. Kouga. Them and many others whom I met back then and who had demonic blood running through their veins. They could have survived until now. Could I really encounter them here at some point? If I did, in what state would I find them? Would they remember me or have they forgotten, just like Sesshoumaru? Would I be able to hold back if it came to it? Would I be able to pretend that everything is alright, or help them somehow without raising suspicion?

From the way Naraku looked at me before, I was pretty sure he recognized me. Did he see through my act, or does he think that I don't remember him or anyone else? Either way I was almost certain he would kill me on the spot, but he did nothing like that. He did something to me though, but he didn't kill me. Was he just testing me? Was he playing with me? I couldn't tell and I couldn't stand it any longer!

I threw myself at Nori, who in the meantime bent down to me, and buried my face into his shoulder, crying uncontrollably I faintly noticed as he picked me up and carried me to my bed, but even when he put me down, I refused to let go of him and forced him to stay with me. I didn't want to let go of the last bit of my reality, even though it wasn't entirely true. I just didn't want to be alone and he was, at the moment, the only person I could trust.

After a while I managed to calm down and the nausea had faded completely. I was still wondering what exactly caused that sickness in the first place, but couldn't come up with anything, and even though I was feeling better, I was still holding onto Nori as if my life depended on it.

I was glad that he didn't protest about my actions. When I thought about it, this wasn't surprising at all considering our current relationship. On the other hand, it was also very strange, compared to how things used to be.

I couldn't help but try to imagine what it would be like if we were in our current position back in the past. If it wasn't so sad and scary, I would probably have to laugh at it. For the first time since he carried me to the bed, I raised my head to look at him and again saw just that blank look he was keeping all the time on his scarred face.

What was I thinking? This person had nothing in common with Sesshoumaru how I knew him. No matter what I told to myself, Sesshoumaru and Nori were two completely different people. No matter how much did they look alike and that they might have once been the same, it wasn't true anymore.

Even if he had his memories now, I knew he wouldn't be the same. Too many things happened, and everyone changes in the flow of time. Especially with the occurrences as they were. Just what did Naraku do that it led to this? Moreover, what did he do to me a while ago? I wanted answers. I _needed_ answers. Unfortunately, there was no one who could give them to me.

As I was thinking I noticed a flutter of small wings from behind the window. I focused on that movement and had to keep my eyes from widening in surprise.

_Seems that I'm not the only one who wants answers._

I peered secretly at the poisonous insect about which I was sure was sent here by Naraku. I've never heard anything about these wasps from anyone in this time, which led me to the conclusion that no one knew about them or how they were connected to Naraku. All I knew was that I had to get rid of the creature without raising suspicion.

"Kyaaaaaa!" I yelled, looking straight at it and pointing my trembling finger at it. I wasn't scared of the Saimyosho. I've encountered it in the past often enough to know what to expect from it, but if I didn't know what it was, I knew that I would most likely freak out similarly to what I was just performing.

"Kill that! Quickly!" I said to Nori, still pointing at the insect, which was already turning to leave, but Nori was faster and killed it in one blow. When it was dead, I sighed in relief, but I knew it wasn't the end yet. It was just for a short moment, but I was sure I saw another one hiding out of the view. At first I thought that I would just get rid of it like with the first one, but then I thought about a better plan.

I came up to Nori and with trembling hands took his into mine, preventing him from moving for the while. I looked into his eyes and with fear in my voice I started to talk to him, loudly enough so even our uninvited guest would hear.

"If you ever see such a thing again, I want you to kill it on sight, do you understand?" He nodded and then averted his eyes towards the window for a second. I knew he was trying to detect the second overgrown wasp, but me holding his hands prevented him from doing anything. I didn't mind this short action and continued.

"Good. I really hate bugs. I wonder what that was. It was too big even for a bumblebee. I didn't know something this big even existed!" I said with a trembling and panicked voice. When the second insect flew far out of my sight, I sighed and sat down on my bed again.

Naraku was spying on me and it really distressed me. I would have to be twice as careful than I was now. Even a small mistake could give me away, and since I was already sure that he recognized me, I didn't even want to think about what would he do if he knew that I remember him from the past.

"May I ask a question?" Nori suddenly spoke up and I looked at him, partly surprised and partly glad that he distracted me from those unpleasant thoughts.

"Sure." I told him with smile, trying to appear as kind as possible. I wanted him to trust me. I wanted him to open up to me. I needed someone with whom I could talk freely. He was my biggest chance right now, but I didn't want these talks if we didn't trust each other completely. I didn't want these talks to be supported only by the relationship of the master and the slave.

"You knew about the other one, yet even considering your order, you prevented me from killing it. Why?" He asked and my smile faded a bit. If he remembered, he would guess it, but if he didn't know anything, he probably wouldn't ask at all. I was so torn about everything and I wasn't sure what to say, or rather, how much details should I say.

"So the one who sent them would know about the order I gave you and wouldn't think that you're acting on your own." I decided to say in the end and he actually looked surprised by that answer for a second.

"Slaves are always acting only according to their master's orders, why should that person think otherwise?" He asked again and I chuckled dryly.

"Well, I'm afraid that that person is looking at us two a bit differently." I saw his questioning look and sighed.

"Never mind that." I told him and laid on the bed facing away from him. Maybe it was time to go check the well again. Of course, deep inside my mind I knew it would be a futile attempt, but these occasional tries to get through was the only thing which prevented me from going insane. This faith that one day it would actually work helped me to keep going. Whenever I jumped in and nothing happened, I was always pretty disappointed, but at the same time, I told to myself: _Maybe next time. Next time it might actually work._

When I felt as if I couldn't go on any longer, I would just go and try it again and right now I felt that it was the time. If just Sesshoumaru remembered who he was. If just Naraku didn't come. If I just never left the past and stayed there with the others, maybe I would be able to prevent all this from happening. If we all were together, I was sure we could!

With these thoughts I slowly drifted into sleep, only to wake up in the middle of the night. I looked around myself to see that there was no one else here. I wondered where did Nori go, but then thought it was better he wasn't here and slowly stood up. This was probably the best time for me to go to the well house.

Quickly, but silently, I made my way to my destination. I couldn't let anyone to know that I was coming here at all. Everyone knew this place as the one where I hurt myself and _lost_ my memories. If they knew about my actions, I was pretty sure they would freak out and I wouldn't hear the end of it.

When I descended the stairs leading to the well, I paused for a while, just looking down there into the darkness inside. It was really quite a distance from the top to the bottom and I never really thought about it before. Not as long as it was working as a pathway for me. Now though, it seemed really deep and I was even getting scared of actually jumping in.

However, I needed to make sure. I wanted to see my friends, knowing that with them I might be able to set things right, and I would be restless until I would confirm if the well works or not. Since I was already here, it would be stupid to back away, so I slowly climbed onto the rim of the well and once again looked down. I closed my eyes and slid into the well.

I landed on the soft ground at the bottom like many times before, the weight of my body actually forcing me into a sitting position, but I never hurt myself. I didn't know why, but I definitely didn't complain. If I hurt myself, it would mean explanations to my family. Even after so many times trying this, I still didn't come up with something believable.

I slowly raised my head to look up and then opened my eyes. Unconsciously, tears started to run down my cheeks when I confirmed that I was still in the well house, the dark roof of the building glaring at me like an evil being. The darkness was almost immediately pierced by something white and my brain slowly processed that Nori landed beside me with concern on his face.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" He asked, undoubtedly noticing my tears, not to mention the place I was in. I was in a daze, everything around me seemed to slow down. This place, this reality, it was slowly killing me from the inside and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't talk with anyone about it. If at least Sesshoumaru was here, truly here, not just this poor substitute of him.

I turned at him and just watched him for a while.

_If I could just make him remember somehow, but how can I do that when he doesn't trust me?_

With anyone else, if Nori showed that he remembered something, he would be in trouble, how could I prove him that I was different? I saw him kneeling beside me, obviously worried about me, but he wouldn't do anything without my consent. It was irritating, but on the other hand, maybe _that_ might be the solution for my problem as well.

"Say," I started numbly, "you have to obey any order I give you, right? Even if it wasn't really in your powers to do it. Even if it wouldn't really depend on your will, you would still have to at least try, even if it meant that you would die in the process, you would have to, right?" I looked straight into his eyes and he nodded.

"That's correct." He stated and I took a deep breath. I didn't know if it would work, and maybe I really could have just make the things worse, but at the moment, I just didn't see any other way. It was a shot in the dark, but it was worth taking.

"If it's so, then I order you to remember! Remember everything!"


	13. Memories

Hello everyone, even though it might have seemed that way, I'm still not dead and now I'm planning to finish all my stories one by one. I've had a really major block the last few months and even I was starting to get annoyed by it, but now I'm back, hopefully, so you can expect more chapters soon.

Thanks for keeping up with me for so long and once again sorry for the long wait.

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 13 – Memories<strong>

_"If it's so, then I order you to remember! Remember everything!"_

Her words ran through my mind. I never expected she would give me such an order**,** and I had no idea what would happen next. The first moment felt almost like an eternity. There was a short moment of expectation, when I could hear only the beating of my heart, and then it started.

My head suddenly started to hurt as if it was on fire. I wasn't prepared for this and my body instantly paralyzed in agony.

I fell on the ground, holding my head in an effort to ease the pain that kept rising every second. I heard someone's voice in the distance, but I didn't know what it was saying. I tried to get my head to stop throbbing, but no matter what I did, it had no effect at all.

My mind filled with an avalanche of scenes flashing before my eyes. The uncountable masses of memories, forcibly forgotten over the centuries, suddenly came rushing back. I started to feel dizzy and tried to close my eyes, but that just made it worse.

I was confused. I didn't know what to make out of it. There was no system, nothing to help make sense of it all. The places, the people, there were just too many of them, and I was sure that my head would burst at any moment. When the pain began to ease, I opened my eyes once more.

I found myself in some dark was a familiar face looking at me, worried. It wasn't part of my memories. The face was.

_Who is that person? _

_Why is she so__ anxious__? _

_Is it my fault? _

_Who am I?_

The world around me started to spin. My eyelids felt heavy, my head felt light. The face started to fade away, slowly but surely disappearing to the darkness. That darkness was inviting, and I couldn't find the strength to refuse that invitation anymore.

The pain stopped just as suddenly as it appeared. I couldn't tell if I had my eyes opened or closed. It didn't make any difference, because everything was still dark either way.

_What is this place? Why am I here?_

I stood up, trying to make sense of anything, when a small spark of light caught my attention.

At the moment, it was the only thing that seemed out of place. Instinctually, I decided to follow it. The echo of my steps was my only companion.

When I reached the light source, it was too bright for me to see what was beyond. There was no other place to go. Only one little step separated the yellow rays of light from completely engulfing me. I took that step and the last of the darkness disappeared.

Inside, the light started to slowly fade away and, the scenes of my life took its place. These places in time were running fast in front of my eyes, but somehow, I was able to keep up.

I recognized places from when I was still just a kid and later even those from my travels and from my encounters with Inuyasha or Naraku. Every single day of my life passed in front of me and my mind was taking it all back in the form of my lost memories.

I watched everything patiently, even the moment when we defeated Naraku and Kagome was leaving for home.

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><p><em>Kagome.<em>

I knew her, she was traveling with my half-brother Inuyasha, but there was something more about her. Something was bothering me and I couldn't figure out what. She was somehow important. Not only in our fight against Naraku, but also something else. Maybe I would get the answer later.

Kagome was leaving, she didn't belong to our time and she knew it. Everyone looked sad, and I knew that no one wanted to let her go. She also seemed to be a bit hesitant at times, but she's already made her decision and she wasn't of those who would easily change their mind. She was saying goodbyes and hugging everyone along the way. It was a very tearful farewell.

_Why am I even here?_ I was thinking at that time. We weren't even allies, we just each took a part in the final battle. I didn't owe anything to any of them and the same could be said the other way around.

In all her excitement, Kagome came to hug me as well. I didn't react in any way, I found this whole ordeal to be foolish, but even though I didn't return her hug, I didn't try to shake her off either.

_Why?_ I asked myself and surprisingly, it didn't even take me that much time to reach the answer.

As much as I would want to deny it, this girl has also found her way to my heart. Kagome was careless and moody. She was stubborn, and hard to get along with. She was different from all the girls which were around at that time and that made her interesting. Interesting in many ways. Maybe if Kagome had stayed a little longer, I could have studied her some more. Her and her ways of doing things.

She let go of me and I mentally shook my head. What was I thinking? She was Inuyasha's, I had no connection to her whatsoever and I didn't want to create one either. It's certainly better that she was leaving. Kagome had a strange influence on the people around her. I could see it with Inuyasha, and even though I didn't exactly want to admit it, I could see it with myself, too.

My thoughts about Kagome left with her, and for a while, everything seemed to be peaceful. I left Rin in the village with the old lady Kaede, and just occasionally visited her. It was better for both of us that way. Inuyasha proved himself to be stronger than I anticipated, so I decided to tolerate him around me. He seemed to accept that kind of relationship between us.

Everything was fine, until the day Naraku had returned. It was something no one expected to happen. The first place he attacked was the village where Rin and everyone else lived. It was completely destroyed. Without any significant delay, he did the same in many other places across the whole country, causing everyone to panic. People lived in despair, and many demons started to wreak havoc after the attacks had started.

I didn't know what caused such wide-spread mayhem, but my first action was to go check on Rin. My rescue came far too late. The only indication of something being there before was Naraku's thick miasma lingering on the dead ground. I would recognize that stench at any time. I knew that Rin couldn't have made it, and I cursed Naraku, swearing that this time I would end his life for sure.

I relaxed somewhat when I noticed the presence of someone still alive nearby. I found Inuyasha and the little fox kit, near where the village had once stood, but they were both unconscious. I picked them up and carried them to a safe place, so they could recover. I started to think about what exactly happened, and how to solve this sudden return of our long-to-be-thought-dead enemy. I wasn't making much progress.

It took days before the two survivors woke up, and in the meantime, the country was in even more panic than at the start. Naraku certainly wasn't wasting any time. There was a war between those who stood on Naraku's side and those who were against him. If one didn't count the power of Naraku himself, the two sides would be almost equal. If not for Naraku, either side could win, but Naraku _was_ there, and even stronger than before.

From the traces he's left behind, he was no longer a half-demon, but a full-fledged demon who also somehow outwitted death. That was too much of a disadvantage to his opponents.

When Inuyasha woke up, his first words were: "That bastard Naraku!" and I knew that instant that he was full aware of our situation. I filled him in the happenings of the time he was out and he just proved to me that the attack was too sudden to be able to do anything.

Shippowoke up shortly after Inuyasha. When they've got well enough, we decided to meet up with some other people who had something to do with the first battle against him. The first person we went to was Kouga, who had already started to gather people for a resistance movement.

He and Ayame were the main initiators of this gathering. Aside from past grudges, they had one more reason to be as active as they were. By this time in their lives, they were blessed with a cub. A small girl who was given the name Kagome. It was Kouga's idea and Ayame protested quite a bit at the start, but only because of the relationship Kouga had with her. Ayame acknowledged Kagome for her strengths, and soon she's learned to like the idea of having her first cub named after her.

Unlike the last time, we already knew how dangerous can Naraku be and none of us wanted to underestimate him again, so this time, we'd formed an actual alliance. There was no space for playing around like we were doing before. We all were fully aware that if we couldn't defeat him that time by ourselves, this time it would be even less probable.

Our alliance hadn't joined the forces who were fighting against him. We've came to the conclusion, that fighting him head-on would be meaningless, other than buying a bit of time. We've left that to the people already fighting him and instead were trying to come up with some other strategy.

The number of those who were actively fighting against Naraku was slowly, but surely, going down and those who were still alive were quickly losing their morale. They themselves started to realize how futile their attempts were. The enemies they managed to defeat were replaced with someone else and their numbers were actually rising, since many joined Naraku after witnessing his power.

In the end, our little alliance was the only opposing force, which was still active. Yet, we still weren't any wiser in regards to Naraku's complete defeat. On the contrary, we've become the targets of many, and the only reason we could still keep going was by staying in shadows, not letting anyone to find our hideouts. It was too much like when we were looking for Naraku in the past, but this time it was the other way around.

At one point, Kouga's got the wind of some information. It was supposed to get us closer to uncovering Naraku's weakness, but considering the situation, we were all aware that even though it could be useful for us, it would be just as dangerous. With this in mind, jsut before Kouga set out to check it out, he asked me to take care of Ayame and little Kagome, if something were to happen to him. He wasn't a dreamer anymore, and he was well aware of the differences of strengths between us and Naraku, or even between us two. He still wasn't the one to admit it aloud to others, but he couldn't deny it to himself any longer, not in the situation we were in.

As we feared, that information was just a trap set up for us, and we have never seen Kouga again. Ayame didn't want to accept it, and even though we tried to stop her, she's left after him. This way, we've lost two of our members in a short time and thanks to Ayame's carelessness, we were also soon found out by Naraku's spies.

We scattered into the woods, hoping that at least some of us would be saved and could continue to search for Naraku's weakness, but they were already on our trail, leaving us no choice but to keep running and hiding. At first, Inuyasha and I were together, but then even we had to split up. Inuyasha took Shippo with him, while I took care of little Kagome as I promised.

We've lived like this for years, Kagome hardly remembering anything about her real parents. She'd been too young when this all started and this situation had been dragging out for too long. Somewhere along the way, I'd gotten the news that Inuyasha got caught, too. There was no one else in our alliance who could significantly change the the fight to our advantage, leaving me as the last one.

The long years of constant escaping, having to look not only after me, but also after the girl, also took their toll on me, and one day Naraku managed to catch me, too. Maybe I would be able to keep it up a bit longer, but when Naraku decided to go after me himself, my chances lessened way too much. He took little Kagome away from me and put me into a dark cell deep underground, with all my power drained away from me...

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><p>I backed away a few steps. I knew these scenes, I still remembered it. I didn't remember everything, but I didn't even want to. I didn't want to go through this again. I turned my head away, and swung out with my claws. I felt as if my hand was going through some substance and it reminded me of blood. I looked up, and saw as the scenes were slowly scattering around in whirls, until they completely disappeared.<p>

I was once again left in darkness, though, this darkness was different. It wasn't that deep and unwelcoming. I was actually able to think about what was going on. There wasn't the numbness as before.

I felt some movement and the darkness started to lighten. It was the same as having my eyes closed, so I tried to open them. I saw a girl sitting in front of me with her face full of tears.

I was a bit confused about what was going on, which was probably the outcome of not watching my memories until the end, but even without that, I was soon able to put things together. She was Kagome, the person who left for home so long ago, and now centuries later, she was here, sitting on the bottom of the well crying. There was no doubt she was the same person.

"Now I understand why you are so weird," I commented plainly, "you are that priestess who was traveling with my brother."


	14. Assignment

Beta Reader: animefollower101

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><p><strong>Chapter 14 - Assignment<strong>

"Now I understand why you are so weird. You are that priestess who was traveling with my brother." Nori said right after he opened his eyes. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or feel offended. I was so scared that I made a mistake, that I hurt him, or even killed him by my stupid order. Now I knew he was alright and he even remembered just like I told him.

"Weird? What do you mean by that?" I asked. I tried to pretend to be angry, but the tears of happiness gave away my true emotions and I threw myself at him, happy that he's alright and that I finally had someone I could freely talk to about anything I wanted.

"This is exactly one of the cases what I meant by weird." He commented calmly and I just laughed lightly. The outcome of the situation made me so relieved and I suddenly felt very tired.

"Please, take me back to my room." I whispered. I could barely find enough strength to talk, and I closed my eyes.

"Sure." He replied just as quietly, and then I felt him pick me up from the well and carry me back to the house. It was very eventful day and I fell asleep before we even reached my room, allowing myself to dream peacefully for the first time since I came here.

I woke up, but I didn't open my eyes yet. I was in my bed, sleeping on my right side and I felt good. It's been a long time since I felt this good and I wanted to enjoy that feeling for as long as possible. I felt as if someone was watching me and when I thought I couldn't take it any longer, I opened my eyes.

I screamed and immediately stood up on my bed with my pillow in my hands as a weapon. Logically, I knew it would be useless and slowly I was starting to realize that I didn't even need any weapon at all.

"What are you doing? You scared me to death!" I hissed when all my thoughts settled down. Nori was still sitting in the same place, right beside my bed where he was still staring straight into my face.

"I was watching you, waiting for you to wake up." He said simply, and I sat back down with a snort.

"Well, you didn't have to be so close." I stated irritated and fell back on the bed, holding the pillow, tightly in my embrace. Nori laughed shortly and I raised my eyebrows in question.

"I just found it funny." He stated. I thought about his answer for a bit and then I frowned.

"Wait a second. Are you trying to say that I'm funny?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes as I was waiting for his reaction.

"I never said that. Only your reactions are sometimes hard to comprehend." He explained, but that didn't make me stop frowning.

"So, basically, yes. You do find me to be funny." I stated blankly, but decided not to dwell on that matter much.

I didn't want to start to think in the lines that it was easier to get along with him before his memories returned, because technically, it was. On the other, and better, side, it lightened the air between us and I didn't mind a bit of bickering. Actually, it reminded me of the good past I spent with Inuyasha and the others, so it felt rather natural.

"Kagome!" My mum's voice reached me from behind the door. "Kagome, are you awake? You were just given an assignment, so you need to wake up!" She continued and I sighed.

"I'll be right there, just give me a minute!" I shouted back and got up.

"An assignment?" Nori asked and I nodded as I was searching for the clothes to wear, which in this case would be the traditional dress of priestesses.

It was one of the regulations to wear this on assignments, mostly so that no one would get mistaken. It also served as permission to get into places other people wouldn't normally be allowed to enter.

"That's right, it seems that some kind of demon is causing some trouble and I'm supposed to deal with it." I explained shortly, and thought about how it came to this in the first place.

Right after I graduated, I was placed to the Order of priestesses, which was the main and only acknowledged organization responsible for all the priestesses. Everyone who was in this organization had to follow a certain code, which was also part of our studies. They had to fulfill the assignments they were given, just as I was about to do.

The organization was divided into different branches, each specializing in something else. There were some dedicated for healing purposes. Another focused on creating and keeping up barriers of all kinds. There was even a branch which specialized in dark arts. I was placed in the branch for exorcisms, for my good agility, sharp mind and good aim, as my teacher described it. I didn't protest, it was after all really the one thing I was good at.

I've been on missions before, even on such where our goal was to capture the certain demon alive, which were usually performed in groups. Those were the demons, who stood up against Naraku in any way. Then there were cases of demons, who were just acting according to their nature, Causing mischief wherever they went. I was usually sent alone and it was up to me to decide how to deal with them. I could either capture them, if it was possible and if they were worth the capture, or I could just exterminate them.

During the whole time I've been doing this, I've never chose the first option, even though there might have been cases where some of the others would. I just found it a better option to kill them than to bring the fate of becoming slaves upon their heads. I could live with exterminating them, but I knew I wouldn't be able to live with it if I knew that I somehow supported the system of this society.

"You can wait for me downstairs, I'll take you with me. Even though I should be able to deal with it without trouble, it's always easier when there's two for the job." I told him and with a nod he left the room. I finally found the dress and quickly changed, before leaving the room as well.

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><p>We were coming closer to the construction site I was told about, and I could already see some older man standing in the entrance. He looked pretty anxious and I wondered what kind of demon I would face. I wasn't given much information about the situation beforehand, but it wasn't that unusual. The people calling in rarely had any useful information as they usually said just something along the lines, that strange things are happening at their place.<p>

"Hello, my name is Kagome and I was sent here by the Order." I introduced myself and the man looked at me with relief in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're finally here. Please follow me." He said hastily and already turned around to lead the way. He looked really distressed, maybe even scared, and I held back a sigh. It was always this way and the problem I was called for was usually something minor. I often wondered how would they be acting if they were in some real trouble.

We've arrived at the back of the site and the man stopped and turned around. He still kept watching his surroundings as if he expected something to jump out at any moment. I didn't feel any strange presence at the moment, so I stayed calm.

"It's here. This is the place. It didn't hurt any people yet, but lots of our stuff keeps going missing from this place. It cost us so much money already, we can't afford any more of this. Please help us." He explained

I raised my eyebrows, before answering. "Stuff is disappearing? Isn't it rather a work of some thief?" I asked suspiciously, but the man quickly shook his head.

"No, I'm sure it isn't. We thought that too at first, but then we confirmed that it isn't the case. There's something here. Something supernatural. You must believe me." He almost pleaded. I raised my hands to calm him down and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I trust you. Just leave it to me. I'll come to you when I'm gone. For now, I request that you leave. I don't know what is the cause of this, so I don't know how dangerous it could actually be." I told him calmly and he bowed in thanks. I could swear that for a second I saw him having tears in his eyes, but I just brushed it off.

When the man left, I scouted the area carefully and when I didn't find anything suspicious, I turned to Nori.

"I don't sense anything strange. What about you?" I asked him, but he just shook his head.

"It doesn't seem that something is here, but it's possible that my senses have become dulled over time. If it is some lower demon, I might not be able to catch its presence. Even in the past, I wasn't particularly paying attention to the demons who were of too low status. They would usually avoid me rather than crossing my path." He explained and I sighed.

"So, are you trying to tell me that whatever is, or was here, is just hiding somewhere because you're here?" I asked.

"It is a possibility." He answered and I thought about it. I had to get this job done and I didn't really need his help. Moreover, it seemed that I couldn't really do the job with him around, so I decided to just send him away for the time being.

"We might as well try out this theory. Just wait for me at the entrance for the time being and I'll see if something will make an appearance." I suggested and with a nod, Nori went on his way.

When I was alone, I was looking around, but everything was still as calm as before. Nothing changed about that fact for several minutes and I started to lose hope, thinking if there was anything at all in the first place, but just when I was starting to lose patience, I felt something grabbing at my ankles.

I yelped and tried to jump away, but I couldn't move at all and when I looked at my legs to see what it was what was holding me, I couldn't believe my eyes. Both of my legs were covered in some living mud and the mud was slowly rising up my legs, trying to completely engulf me.

I tried to shake it off, but its hold was surprisingly tight. I realized that I was slowly starting to sink, and that was the point which brought me back to my senses. I focused my energy on my legs and released it at once so it would hit all the mud already holding me. It had instant effect and as I was freed, I quickly jumped back, watching the ground cautiously.

I noticed that there was a circle of a bit darker ground, which I assumed was the form of that mud demon. After I escaped, it was slowly coming closer to me. Its progress was really slow, and it gave me the time to think a bit.

I realized that even now, when it was so close to me, or even when it held my legs before, I could still hardly notice its presence at all. That showed how weak it was, but I knew better than to underestimate it. It already got a hold of me before and someone else could be in real trouble if it happened to them.

I decided to deal with it quickly, and I pulled out one of my arrows. I aimed straight at the center of that dark circle. I hit the mark without trouble, but as the energy flew out of the arrow, the dark mud just seemed to inflate at the center, and without any further effect the arrow disappeared in its midst.

"Now I get where all the stuff went." I stated with a nervous chuckle and made a few more steps back. If the arrow didn't work, what would? My energy repelled the mud from my legs before, so why was the arrow now useless? I was confused, but I wouldn't give up. I couldn't allow myself to be defeated by a lump of mud.

I noticed that the mud was wiggling strangely, and it kind of reminded me of having an upset stomach. Maybe that energy it just swallowed had some effect, but there just wasn't enough of it to actually destroy it. I gave it about two more seconds of thought and then I prepared another arrow.

It took four more arrows to get some results, but I could see the progress after each arrow I fed it. Every time, it moved more vigorously and with the last arrow, it looked like a volcano just before eruption.

To my dismay, it really kind of did explode in the end, spitting out all the stuff it ate during it's life, including my poor arrows. There were timbers, rods, ropes, wires and all other material flying all around. I had to hide behind the closest wall so I wouldn't get hit by anything of it. When everything calmed down, I came out and saw that the mud was still moving.

_Don't tell me it just threw everything out and now it's going to start over._ I thought, but after a few more seconds, the mud demon burst and everything's got covered in that substance, me included. I frowned at my appearance and then sighed knowing that there was nothing I could do about it. At least the job was done and I could now return home and take a long bath. I certainly needed it. With that, I turned around and left for the entrance.


End file.
